Common Record: CommonLine (CRC) is the integration of the Common Record, the mechanism schools use for Pell grant, campus-based aid, and Direct loan processing, with CommonLine, the FFELP and alternative loan electronic processing standard that has existed in the industry for years.

Thus, when a school implements CRC, whether that school participates in the FFELP or Direct Loan Program, it will process financial aid data using the Common Record.

CRC continues the CommonLine tradition by offering the FFELP community a full-service network that includes standard XML file formats, valid values, business rules, and edits for the exchange of FFELP and alternative loan application, response, disbursement, and change request data transmission and processing.

FFELP business partners now have the ability to communicate with each other electronically via the most recent Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council (PESC)-approved standardized format, using the same platform as the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA).

The design of a single, standard XML-based Common Record to support all financial aid programs, including the FFEL, direct loan, and alternative loan programs, provides a consistent and well-coordinated alternative to flat files and provides a simplified process for the submission of financial aid data by schools and their service and software providers.

Latest CRC Version
CRC Implementation Guide Version 1.3.0 and its corresponding schemas is now available and explains in detail how CommonLine data is processed in an XML manner using the Common Record structure. To view this latest guide, as well as the Tracking Master indicating the most recent revisions to the guide, visit the links on the right.

CRC working documents in progress continue to be made available on the Electronic Standards Committee (ESC) Origination Standards Advisory Team sharepoint on the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs' (NCHELP's) Web site.

After thorough review and revision by the ESC Testing and Certification Advisory Team, all CRC examples have been removed from the CRC Implementation Guide and now are posted separately in NCHELP's e-library. Organizations can use these samples for testing purposes.

The evolution of CRC
Before CRC, FFELP service and software providers wanted to converge with the FSA's XML-based Common Record and Core Components Data Dictionary in order to capitalize on commonalities across programs and to minimize the use of multiple electronic standards.

As a result, members of the NCHELP's ESC in collaboration with PESC and FSA, developed a new XML-based version of CommonLine named Common Record: CommonLine (CRC). NCHELP and PESC assisted FSA with the development of the Common Record and the Core Components Data Dictionary. This collaborative effort enables the Common Record and the Data Dictionary to bring consistency and standardization to the transmission of student financial assistance data.

About the ESC
NCHELP established the ESC to promote the timely development of industry electronic communication standards within the FFELP. Certain members of the committee comprise an Origination Standards Advisory Team, whose goal is to provide a single standard origination, disbursement, and change product to support FFELP and alternative loan processing. The Advisory Team continues to focus on version management between the CRC documentation, schemas, and testing tool, posting document revisions to the NCHELP Web site as available.

For more information
For additional resources such as the CRC Instance Samples and the latest CRC Readiness Survey, visit the NCHELP Web site at www.nchelp.org/elibrary/index.cfm?parent=1679.

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